The Counter-Roll in Science

Abstract

A controlled experiment, everyone learns early in school, is the hallmark of good science. But what, exactly, is the hallmark of a controlled experiment? For many people, a controlled experiment is, straightforwardly, one “controlled” by the scientist. If you can “control” the variables and produce a predicted result (based on your hypothesis), then you seem to have proved cause and effect. Scientific credibility seems to emerge from the power of demonstration and technology. However, this widespread view of the core meaning of control in science – this month's Sacred Bovine – is mistaken (Boring, 1954, 1969). It thus fosters a misleading impression of what makes scientific claims reliable. Here, I journey through the history of the term control and show how the concept contributes to the distinctive nature of scientific reasoning. The origin of the modern term control may seem surprising. Yet it is also informative. It comes from the French contre-rolle , translated as “counter-roll.” No one uses counter-rolls today. But historically (beginning at least by the 12th century), royal household expenditures were documented on paper rolls. Later, rolls recorded other business, trade, and tax accounts (Figure 1). In some cases, the transactions were recorded on two rolls simultaneously. The duplicate roll – the counter -roll – was kept independently by a trusted officer. The copy could later be consulted when auditing the accounts, allowing one to detect any illicit tampering with the original records. Basically, the counter-roll was a parallel reference copy for comparison, a method to identify and thereby limit errors. The method helped to guarantee reliability in accounting (see Hoskin & Macve, 1994, p. 76). Eventually, the person who managed the counter-roll became known as the comptroller – a term still used today for someone who manages and monitors the finances of a business …